Impulsive phase of flares in soft X-ray emission

Observations using the Bent Crystal Spectrometer instrument on the Solar Maximum Mission show that turbulence and blue-shifted motions are characteristic of the soft X-ray plasma during the impulsive phase of flares, and are coincident with the hard X-ray bursts observed by the Hard X-ray Burst Spectrometer. A method for analysing the Ca xix and Fe xxv spectra characteristic of the impulsive phase is presented. Non-thermal widths and blue-shifted components in the spectral lines of Ca xix and Fe xxv indicate the presence of turbulent velocities exceeding 100 km s^-1 and upward motions of 300–400 km s^-1.The April 10, May 9, and June 29, 1980 flares are studied. Detailed study of the geometry of the region, inferred from the Flat Crystal Spectrometer measurements and the image of the flare detected by the Hard X-ray Imaging Spectrometer, shows that the April 10 flare has two separated footpoints bright in hard X-rays. Plasma heated to temperatures greater than 10⁷ K rises from the footpoints. During the three minutes in which the evaporation process occurs an energy of 3.7 × 10³⁰ ergs is deposited in the loop. At the end of the evaporation process, the total energy observed in the loop reaches its maximum value of 3 × 10³⁰ ergs. This is consistent with the above figures, allowing for loss by radiation and conduction. Thus the energy input due to the blue-shifted plasma flowing into the flaring loop through the footpoints can account for the thermal and turbulent energy accumulated in this region during the impulsive phase.On leave from Torino University, Italy.     

Impact of small amounts of swelling clays on the physical properties of debris‐flow‐like granular materials. Implications for the study of alpine debris flow

The effect of the small fraction of clays on the rheological behaviour of alpine debris flow is poorly understood. This is partly due to the complexity of the debris flow mineralogy and the broad particle size distribution. This study has investigated this issue by simulating an alpine debris flow with a mixture of well characterized fractions and then varying the clay fraction composition. Four samples were tested, ranging from a clay fraction made up of only kaolinite (1:1 type clay) to samples where 80 per cent of the kaolinite is replaced by bedeillite (a 2:1 type clay similar to smectite). Changing the content of 2:1 type clay has a strong influence on the behaviour of the whole material, despite its low weight fraction of around 2 per cent. The tests carried out on these reconstituted materials were compared with the results obtained for natural debris flow materials and showed some common trends: in particular, the rheological parameters for materials with and without 2:1 clays with respect to yield stress as a function of solid content. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A comet in the lab

What have Stardust samples told us about the early solar system? Phil A Bland, Anton T Kearsley, P J Wozniakiewicz, M J Burchell, M Gounelle, M E Zolensky and Matt J Genge have some of the answers – and a few more questions.     

Solvent extraction followed by ultraviolet detection for investigation of tetramethylthiuram disulfide at soil-water interface

Tetramethylthiuram disulfide is a widely used pesticide and a soil treatment agent in the agricultural sector. Consequently, its detection in the environment and investigation of the distribution between the aqueous and soil phases would be of highly importance. In this study, the detection of tetramethylthiuram disulfide in CHCl₃ was successfully achieved through absorbance measurements at 280 nm, which resulted in linear calibration curves. This detection method was extended for the determination of the partition coefficient (K_D) of tetramethylthiuram disulfide between CHCl₃ and H₂O phases at ambient temperature. The partition coefficient was subsequently used to determine the apparent partition coefficient (K_D) of tetramethylthiuram disulfide between sieved soil of diamater < 2.0 mm used for agricultural practices and water where by the quantification of tetramethylthiuram disulfide in water after adsorption equilibrium with soil was achieved through a solvent extraction step of tetramethylthiuram disulfide-contaminated water into CHCl₃. The K_D determined for an initial tetramethylthiuram disulfide concentration ranging from 3.00 ppm to 10.00 ppm showed a decreasing trend, which leveled off at high concentrations, indicating the strong irreversible adsorption behavior of tetramethylthiuram disulfide on soil at low concentrations. The proposed detection method would have the potential to determine the extent of adsorption of tetramethylthiuram disulfide in soil or its levels in water when tetramethylthiuram disulfide is introduced to soil systems for agricultural practices.     

Information technology changes corporate office activity

Corporate office activity is concentrated close to head offices in South Eastern England. It is often argued that information technology could change the location of offices by reducing the cost of provincial workplaces. The reorganisation of office functions associated with the introduction of information technology could also provide an opportunity to decentralise administrative structures.Two case studies in offices in manufacturing industry suggest that information technology can in fact be used to support either the centralisation or decentralisation of office work. The impact of the technology varies between corporate structures. In Unilever, a decentralised organisation, information technology has encouraged the decentralisation of routine administrative functions. In the more tightly-controlled Ford accounting function the mechanisation of accounts has been associated with the centralisation of administration at key sites. In both corporate structures it seems that information technology is being used to centralise important management functions.     

Zircon trace element chemistry at sub-micrometer resolution for Tarawera volcano,New Zealand,and implications for rhyolite magma evolution

Zoned crystals can be important recorders of magmatic processes in space and time. However, in most situations, the temporal dimension is difficult to quantify. Here, we have employed secondary ion mass spectrometry depth profiling to excavate parallel pits into non-polished crystal faces of zircon to obtain ~5 μm resolution U–Th disequilibrium ages (one pit) that can be correlated with trace element zoning at sub-μm resolution derived from a second pit. Data from 17 crystals representing each of the four rhyolite eruptions of Tarawera volcano, an intra-caldera edifice within the Okataina Volcanic Centre, reveal diverse zircon growth conditions over time. Most crystals display rimward depletions in Zr/Hf and Ti, broadly consistent with cooling and crystallization. However, a significant fraction of crystals lacks these patterns and displays rimward trace element variations consistent with isothermal or prograde crystallization. Oscillatory zonation patterns in Y, Th, and U are superimposed on the Zr/Hf and Ti trends. Despite the limited number of crystals analyzed in this way, the striking lack of ubiquitous trace element zoning patterns in crystals from the same hand sample implies that fractional crystallization upon cooling was punctuated by magma recharge and crystal mixing affecting different parts of the magma reservoir. By combining data from all crystals, a systematic change to more heterogeneous trace element abundances is revealed by zircon crystal domains <45 ka following the Rotoiti caldera-forming eruption. This contrasts with the more uniform conditions of zircon crystallization lasting >100 ka prior to caldera formation and is best explained by the post-caldera system consisting of small, isolated melt pockets that evolved independently. An important conclusion is that the zircon ‘cargo’ in volcanic rocks reflects thermally and compositionally divergent processes that act near simultaneously in a magma storage region and not exclusively the conditions in the eruptible magma.